The Grand Deception
by GrinGrin
Summary: What if everything you thought you knew about Otogakure... was wrong? What if Konoha lied about the Sannin?


_I do not own Naruto._

**The Grand Deception**

"How telling of us humans; that we'd believe that which others believe, with no intention of ever confirming the truth. So very much like sheep… though that does make our job a bit easier…"

"Hey, I get where you're coming from, like really. That's my life's blood, after all. But it does tend to work to our favour more often than not. Hell, a suspicious mind would almost think it is _too easy_, the way they swallow these lies."

"Ah, but many would prefer the sweet poison over the bitter truth… at least, as long as they are still capable of making the decision. But we've slacked off enough. Sensei needs us to get work done. Not like he asked for much…"

The three smiled at each other.

One with deadly cunning, the other with false folly and the last with vague pride.

They would not fail. There was too much riding on this.

* * *

><p><em>There was a great story told in all the corners of the Elemental Nations. A great story, filled with great triumph and deep sorrow. It spoke of the forming of a great village, a bastion of strength, loyalty and nobility.<em>

_It spoke of its founder, who gathered scattered clans and united them in purpose, bringing them together under a single banner. It spoke of the dangers he faced, from without and, much more treacherously, from within._

_It spoke of his brother and his successor. He who firmly established the new found village into a true power, one that could influence the entire known world should it so choose. And great were his accomplishments and his trails._

_It spoke of the third, the master of all, and what he did to keep his home safe. He mentored and trained, helped and advised and in the end was responsible for two other legends being born. The first was, perhaps the more important._

_A true legend. A terror on the battlefield, a saint to those he held dear. A blonde man, a great man, who did the unthinkable. Who stood up in the face of the malice of the world itself and called upon Death to seal it away, paying the ultimate price for his valor. A hero, in all sense of the word. One who left the world too early and cast his mentor back into the chaotic world he had left not long before._

_But the second part of the third's legacy… It's much more interesting, isn't it? Everyone has heard of the great Yondaime. His legend has spread far and wide. Both famous and infamous, a saint and a demon, a hero and a villain. But it's also a bit boring, isn't it?_

_The noble hero, standing against the whole world to protect that which he loves? Challenging and overcoming all the hardships he faced? Ah, every child could tell you how the story would end…_

_But the second part of the third's legacy… isn't that the more sordid tale? One ripe with betrayal and madness, hidden evil and secret agendas? Redemption, while nice and wholesome, is also boring…_

_But the fall… was it not everyone's secret desire to know more about that? To unravel that which would cause someone to become so twisted? To examine the corruption of a great man, again and again and again?_

_Of course it was… it was but human nature._

_And so the stories of Konoha spread… but more and more, it returned to the rise, and more importantly, the fall of the Sannin…_

_Of brilliant Orichimaru… who turned traitorous madman._

_Of valiant Jiraiya… who became foolish in his hunt for his erstwhile brother._

_Of celebrated Tsunade… who abandoned that which her family had fought for._

_It was known in every corner. Taught as truth to genin the world over, spread in hushed tones in darkened taverns, mocked around campfires as nuke-nin hid from daylight._

_But what if I were to tell you that it was a lie?_

* * *

><p>"Uzumaki Naruto, genin 1242, reporting for duty, Hokage-jiji."<p>

It was a room he had been in many times. The office of perhaps the strongest person Naruto knew and by far the one who had played the biggest part in his education. The academy helped refine him, sure, but it was the Hokage that had sculpted Naruto into the young genin he was.

And that man was sitting behind his enormous desk, giving Naruto a faint smile as he filled his pipe with tobacco. It was not something Naruto would admit, but that smell had always calmed him. It reminded him of precious times, when the Hokage had helped him with some small problem or given him a useful bit of advice. It was a smell he would forever come to associate with safety and home.

Sarutobi finished filling his pipe and with a snap of his fingers lit it with a spark. He inhaled deeply and steeled himself for the conversation to come. He exhaled and looked at Naruto through the wisps of smoke. The wisps twisted away as he spoke. "Naruto… you have no idea how proud I am of you. Of the young man you've grown into. Your father would be proud, truly, to call you his own."

He looked at Naruto and his vibrant smile and quashed that feeling of self-loathing rising in his breast. He sighed and removed his pipe, no longer in the mood to enjoy it. He lay it on his desk, carefully extinguished it by stealing the air that fed it. His right hand rose and removed the accursed hat from his head.

Naruto was struck by how weary his Jiji looked. He knew he was old, sure, everybody knew that… but he'd always carried his years well, with a dignity few, if any, could manage. So to see him there, slumped in his chair, left hand tugging at his sparse hair and his right crumpling the Hat in his grasp… it was disconcerting, to say the least.

He gave a sigh and put both of his hands flat on his desk, pulsing chakra to activate the intricate array of seals therein. It was the most thorough application of seals in the entire Village, surpassing even the great barrier guarding the village. This was the work of four great men or so the story went. Few would know how much of the work was actually done by this child's forefathers.

Even know, he could see that hunger in his eyes, as they moved frantically across the seals. He snorted in amusement. _Uzumaki and their seals… some things are truly in the blood._

But even so, when he cleared his throat, Naruto was instantly focused. This was not his Jiji, not anymore. This was his Hokage, who he had sworn to obey. "I have an assignment for you, Naruto. One of vital importance, not just to the village, but to me personally. I am not exaggerating in any way when I tell you the whole world is at stake."

* * *

><p><em>Well, perhaps not the entire story… But parts of it?<em>

* * *

><p>"Welcome to Otogakure, dipshit. I'm Tayuya and for the lamentable future, I'm being forced to be your tour-guide! Isn't that wonderful?"<p>

The sarcasm was scathing.

* * *

><p>"And this beautiful pit is where you'll be staying until you prove yourself. Please note the luxurious floor, with nary a pillow or blanket in sight. Also draw your attention to the beautiful dresser, just itching to fill your bony ass with splinters!"<p>

The room was hidden deep underground, secreted away in a far-flung corner of this maze. It smelled of dirt and blood and tears, but that was okay. He dealt with worse on a nightly basis.

* * *

><p>"Over here is the Pit. Note that that is a title, not just a name. You fail a mission, you go to the Pit. You disobey an order, you go to the Pit. You disrespect any of our senseis, you go to the Pit. Piss someone off enough, and please kami let me get first crack, they'll go to the Pit <em>with you<em>."

It was a strange slice of home at the heart of this madness. It was, in all honesty, just a giant hole in the ground. But it was filled with trees and presumably undergrowth. It would not have been so impressive had it not been for its scale. He was unsure how big this Pit was, seeing as he could see neither the bottom nor the other side.

Dimly he wondered how the trees grew underground, so far away from sunlight.

"And this here is the Pitmaster… You do any of those things I mentioned, and he owns your ass for the next week. Up next is the Med-bay and oooooh boy, you don't wanna visit there too often. The stories I could t-"

Naruto glanced at the man but only got the slightest impression of brown hair crowning a wooden mask before the crimson locks of his 'guide' twisted around the corner. As he ran after her, he could dimly hear sounds echoing up from the Pit. Sounds that distinctly made him uneasy.

* * *

><p>"One time, this medic, Kabuto you'll meet him just now, mistook a PoW as a patient and started fixing him up. But he thought he had this Kekkai Genkai, see, one that let him-"<p>

"I don-"

He had barely started his sentence when Tayuya whipped around, her hair stinging his face. She was inside his guard before the slight pain had even registered. Her brown eyes were blazing with fire. Her hand blurred upwards, and she flicked his nose.

She then smiled, her eyes suddenly softer, more mischievous… but also carrying an undercurrent that made Naruto uneasy.

"Here's a tip, Crap-for-brains… Never interrupt a superior when they're talking, mmmmkay? Prove yourself, gain a couple of ranks, then you can mouth off all you want. Until then…"

Her eyes were suddenly filled with that anger and her head blurred forwards. Naruto stumbled backwards, the head butt having broken his nose. He looked at her in shock as he cradled his nose, trying to stop the flow. He stared into her eyes, suddenly mesmerized by the madness he saw in them.

"Don't interrupt." She twirled, seemingly carefree again, and continued leading him to hell knows where. "It's a good thing the Medbay is next, isn't it? Kabuto will be so _thrilled_ to have another Uzumaki here. I swear, he never believes me when I tell him I'm not actually part of that family. I think it's the hair!"

* * *

><p>"Stop worrying, Sensei. He'll be fine. Hell, if anything, he'll just get stronger and stronger the longer he's cooped up there."<p>

Sarutobi looked across his desk at Jiraiya, before refilling the saucer with sake. It was true, he knew it was, but Naruto was still a surrogate grandson. He cared about him. Call him sentimental or call him a fool, but he couldn't lie to himself.

He threw back the mouthful of sake, the moment so swift a lesser eye might think it had simply disappeared from the saucer. "I suppose you're right. Kami, I _know_ you are. But still, some part of this old man still weeps for the innocence he's going to lose."

Jiraiya's face was sympathetic, but before he could reply, the door to the office opened. Both men stood up, knowing only one person who would dare enter unannounced. They both moved to the front of the desk, waiting patiently for the figure to take Hiruzen's old seat.

The figure lifted up the hat from the back of the chair and put it on. It was unnecessary, true, but it was an ingrained habit now, the ideal way to slip into the correct mindset.

Shimura Danzo looked at his teammate and his spy-master from underneath the white brim of the Hokage hat. His uncovered eye examined their faces.

"Report."

* * *

><p><em>What if all were not as simple as it seemed?<em>

* * *

><p>He followed the crazy girl deeper into the labyrinth, occasionally thumbing his newly healed nose, trying to forget about the creepy medic he had just encountered. <em>Well, creepy medics…<em>

That Karen girl wasn't much better than that pale guy, not with the intent way her eyes follow his every move. And he couldn't prove it, but he was sure she collected some of his blood from his nose when he wasn't looking. _Creepy._

Tayuya had stopped in the middle of an open chamber, with a number of passages leading out of it. She spoke with her back still turned to him, her voice echoing strangely from the walls and roof. Naruto glanced around and saw that all the surfaces were rippled, covered in swirls that seemed to move and change before his eyes. Combined with the strange distortions of Tayuya's voice, he had to fight off a wave of nausea.

"And this… this will be your new playground. You're going to meet your new teammates shortly, then your sensei, then you'll start training. And I hope for your sake you can keep up, since-"

Her voice faded away. The nausea was getting worse and now he felt unbalanced. Something wasn't right. Something… Naruto concentrated and felt something that was not his own. _Genjustu…_

A muttered 'Kai' and Tayuya faded into another shape. It was a woman, her form covered in a trenchcoat and her dark hair done up in a messy ponytail. Her voice was sultry, but carried an undercurrent of danger. "Since I'm not going to take it easy on you. Mitarashi Anko, but you _will_ call me Anko-sensei."

Before Naruto could reply, Tayuya appeared from one of the passages. "Hello Anko-sense-"

Naruto had scarcely blinked before a form slithered out from his new sensei's sleeve and extended towards Tayuya. She sliced at -_was that a snake?-_ the shape with a kunai he didn't even know she had and it disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Tayuya looked more embarrassed than scared or indignant on the apparent attempt to harm her. "Sorry Anko-neechan. Old habits die hard." Anko, still standing with her arm outstretched in Tayuya's direction wavered and seemed to fade into thin air.

A hand reached out from behind Tayuya, revealing Anko in the darkness behind her. She patted the pinkette on the head and grinned. "And I miss you too, Tayuya-chan. Although, there are merits to breaking in new students… but shouldn't you be going? I doubt Kimimaru-kun is as forgiving as I am…"

Tayuya's eyes widened comically, before she turned and ran towards Naruto. She stopped in front of him and seemed to struggle with some inner turmoil. She threw her hands up in the air and leaned forward, close enough that she could whisper into Naruto's ear. "After Anko-neechan works you into decent shape, come look me up. I'd love to go to the Pit with you."

She flashed him a wicked grin that he couldn't quite understand. Before he could respond, her head had darted in again. It happened too fast for Naruto to do anything but tense up, fearing another head butt, but she was gone before anything he could do anything else.

_What just happened? I feel fine. What did she do?_

He suddenly realized that his cheek was wet and lifted his hand up to check what it was.

_It's not blood, but it's definitely wet… what could it be? _

Naruto then rapidly paled, then blushed bright red.

_What kind of a kiss was that!?_

Recovering from his shock, he looked at his new sensei and mumbled, "Weird girl."

He almost had a heart attack when a voice spoke from behind him.

"You said it, brother."

He turned around and saw three teens, a bit older than himself, step from the darkness. There was a slight breeze and with the way their eyes moved to just above his head, he knew Anko was behind him. "Sooooo…. Naru-chan, meet your new team… Abumi Zaku, Kinuta Dosu and Tsuchi Kin."

* * *

><p>Orichimaru entered the med-bay and looked at Kimimaru. "Leave us, please."<p>

The white-haired teen nodded, gathered his robes and with a soft 'Arigato' towards the medic, left the med-bay. As the door clicked shut, Orichimaru casually leant against it. "You wanted to see me, Tsunade?"

The blonde nodded and cleaned her hands of the chakra salve she'd been using. Her back still turned towards him in an attempt to rid herself of the strong herbal smell at the washbasin, she spoke to him.

"You're sure his seal won't act up?"

Orichimaru rolled his eyes, unseen by his teammate, and smirked. "I assure you, the work Jiraiya and I did on Kimimaru is exquisite and –"

A scalpel flashed by his face, burying itself halfway through the door. Tsunade brought her hand up to her face and winced. The smell was still there. "Don't be coy. You know who I meant."

Orichimaru sighed and pried the scalpel loose from the door. He fingered the cut and swept his eye lazily across the multitude of others that marred the door. "He's fine. As safe as can be. Well, at least until he starts actively trying to use its chakra, but that's under supervision… not to mention quite a way off. But that's neither here nor there. You saw what Jiraiya and Sensei dug up?"

At her nod, Orichimaru looked down and stared at the scalpel he was now spinning around his extended index finger. It was a simple chakra exercise, one he had used so much it had become something of a habit when he was deep in thought.

"Then you should know there really isn't going around the Shinigami. That seal is unbreakable. Even should he die, it would take decades for the Kyuubi to leach its way out. And no, it can't break out. I know seals aren't really your forte, but it's unbreakable. Even if the Kyuubi gains power from outside, the seal will just shift to accommodate the new power. It's perfect."

The tap closed and Tsunade dried her hands. They were as clean as they were likely to get. She turned around and leant her weight on the edge of the counter. Her gaze was challenging. "Nothing is perfect."

Orichimaru smiled and opened the door, leaving the scalpel on a nearby gurney. "Nothing made by mortal hands, perhaps… but we're working on that, aren't we?"

He left her then, smiling at Shizune and Kimimaru as he passed an open door.

_And we've already made so much progress!_

* * *

><p>Fu looked carefully at his new assignment. <em>The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki hmmm?<em>

The transfer from Anbu to Otogakure's equivalent had been jarring, true, but he was nothing if not a loyal soldier. He would adapt and overcome. For the good of Konoha.

He sat on his cot and started reading the file.

_First, you must understand the nature of the Kyuubi. It is a metaphysical creature, feeding off the malice of the world. It is strongest in times of war and weakest in times of peace._

_It is due to this feeding-habit that it's Jinchuuriki are virtually always friendly, helpful and optimistic. The Kyuubi drains the negative emotions from them, using it to slowly gain in power until it overwhelms its seal._

_The newest Jinchuuriki is immune to this however, due to the –_

* * *

><p>AN: So there you go… a hell of a weird AU.<p>

Let's start from the beginning…

The first conversation is between Orichimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade about how the world believes they split up. That is, and I hope it's clear now, a lie. They are still loyal to each other and Konoha. Oto merely functions as a proxy, a type of cat's paw for Konoha as a whole.

Naruto graduated two years earlier than canon, so no Konoha 12 and thus none of the attachments related to that.

This Naruto is aware of both his lineage and his status as a demon container.

Sarutobi isn't the true Hokage anymore, and hasn't been since Minato took the Hat. After Minato's death, Danzo took the position, but kept Sarutobi as a public figure, enabling him to do more while keeping the façade of good!Konoha going. It was also his suggestion that Oto be founded and the Sannin 'disband' when Orichimaru's experiments came to light.

Naruto is sent to Oto to train and become stronger, to protect and prepare him for Akatsuki. The major plotpoints remain the same (Uchiha massacre, Orichimaru infiltrating Akatsuki, etc.), but the circumstances change.

And yes, the Shinigami seal is actually worth something in this AU. He gave up his fucking soul, people! That has to be better than just a normal seal that can be broken after a couple of days.

But this Naruto gets violent dreams from his prisoner, virtually daily. Also, the 'malice eating' aspect of this Kyuubi is just a way to rationalize why canon!Naruto is so damn cheerful. Yes it's cracky, but that ain't normal!

So… the inhabitants of Oto… all the canon characters, though they have changed some. Tayuya most of all, since I REALLY liked the idea of Anko being her first sensei. Hence crazy (crazier?) Tayuya. Naruto's 'genin' team is the canon Sound genin team.

Kabuto is still around, but he's loyal to Konoha, screwing Sasori over since the start.

And Root is less soulless monsters and more Oto-version of normal Anbu.

The end goal of the Sannin is immortaility. Orichimaru for canon reason (essentially), Tsunade to get Dan and Nawaki back and Jiraiya to save the people he failed (Pein, Konan, Nagato, Minato, etc.).

So yeah… feel free to ask question, since this was rather nice to write. Not entirely happy with this whole shebang, but I am ill as I sit here and I only got like 4 hours of sleep, so all in all, not too bad… In my humble opinion, of course :p

Read, enjoy and review

~GrinGrin

Written: 15/09/2014

Posted: 15/09/2014

Updated: 15/09/2014


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